Fever and Hemorrhoids

A fever is a body temperature that is higher than normal. It is not an illness. It is part of your body’s defense against infection. Most bacteria and viruses that cause infections do well at the body’s normal temperature (98.6 F). A slight fever can make it harder for them to survive. Fever also activates your body’s immune system.

Treatment depends on the cause of your fever. Your health care provider may recommend using over-the-counter medicines such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen to lower a very high fever. Adults can also take aspirin, but children with fevers should not take aspirin. It is also important to drink enough liquids to prevent dehydration.

Hemorrhoids are swollen, inflamed veins around the anus or lower rectum. They are either inside the anus or under the skin around the anus. They often result from straining to have a bowel movement. Other factors include pregnancy, aging and chronic constipation or diarrhea.

Hemorrhoids are very common in both men and women. About half of all people have hemorrhoids by age 50. The most common symptom of hemorrhoids inside the anus is bright red blood covering the stool, on toilet paper or in the toilet bowl. Symptoms usually go away within a few days.

If you have rectal bleeding you should see a doctor. You need to make sure bleeding is not from a more serious condition such as colorectal or anal cancer. Treatment may include warm baths and a cream or other medicine. If you have large hemorrhoids, you may need surgery and other treatments.

The general symptoms are especially marked if incarceration of internal piles within the sphincter has taken place. In case the swelling of the hemorrhoids is so extensive that a reposition cannot be quickly effected, there may be present besides the local pains high fever and signs of collapse.

Contraindications to Taking Rectal Temperature

A rectal temperature is often considered more accurate than an oral or axillary temperature, due to potential alterations in the mouth temperature from beverage intake and alterations in skin temperature due to ambient conditions. There are many types of thermometers available on the market today. For a rectal temperature, a digital thermometer with a probe cover is recommended. A normal rectal temperature is 99.6 degrees F., one degree higher than a normal oral temperature. Taking a rectal temperature is contraindicated for certain conditions.

Heart Conditions

Rectal temperatures should not be taken in most people with a heart condition. According to “Taking Vital Signs,” a rectal probe can stimulate the vagus nerve, which surrounds the anus. This can cause a dangerous heart arrhythmia and fainting.

Surgery

Recent rectal, anal, vaginal and prostate surgeries are all contraindications for taking a rectal temperature due to the risk of damage from the thermometer. A different route must be used until the patient has healed from surgery.

Diarrhea

Diarrhea can change the temperature inside the rectum. Also, inserting the temperature probe inside the rectum of someone experiencing diarrhea can cause that person to have another bowel movement while you are trying to get the temperature reading.

Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are considered a contraindication for taking a rectal temperature. This is true whether the hemorrhoids are external or internal. This contraindication is due to the risk of the temperature probe harming the tissues. Additionally, if the probe is placed near hemorrhoids, the temperature reading could be incorrect.

Certain Intestinal Conditions

Colitis is considered to be a contraindication for taking a rectal temperature due to the chance of damage to the rectum from the thermometer. Bleeding from the rectum is another contraindication. Sometimes, it is because the cause of the bleed is unknown and adding the possibility of causing bleeding by inserting the thermometer can confuse the diagnosis. Secondly, the bleeding could be due to a condition that could be further harmed by the insertion of the probe.

Bleeding Tendencies

Medical sites relates that rectal temperatures are contraindicated in people who have a tendency to bleed easily. Patients with a low platelet count or hemophilia fall into this category. Patients who take blood-thinners may also need to avoid getting a rectal temperature. This is due to the possibility of injuring the rectum and causing a bleed that is difficult to control.

Fecal Impaction

Rectal temperatures should not be performed on people with a fecal impaction (a large, firm stool that is caught in the large intestine or rectum due to an inability to pass it) for two reasons: the thermometer may go into the stool, causing an inaccurate reading, and the tissue in the rectum may be compromised by a large fecal impaction, increasing the odds that a temperature probe will cause damage to the tissue.

Age-Related Contraindications

Some practitioners recommend that only medical personnel take a rectal temperature in an infant under one month old. Others recommend avoiding rectal temperatures in people over 80 years of age. Both of these recommendations are based on the increased likelihood of damage to the tissues of the rectum.

Blood on stool surface and Fever

There are conditions associated with blood on stool surface and fever. This Symptom Checker and help provide a better understanding of causes and treatment of these related conditions:

Hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the rectum or anus, and cause pain, itching, bleeding, and irritation.

Viral pharyngitis. Viral pharyngitis is a sore throat caused by a virus, and causes throat pain and cold-like symptoms.

Gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis is inflammation of the stomach and intestine that causes diarrhea and vomiting.

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Hemorrhoids, also called piles, are vascular structures in the anal canal. In their normal state, they are cushions that help with stool control. The signs and symptoms of hemorrhoids depend on the type present.

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External hemorrhoids occur below the dentate or pectinate line. They are covered proximally by anoderm and distally by skin, both of which are sensitive to pain and temperature. Read more...

Hemorrhoids Treatment

Treatment of hemorrhoids is divided by the cause of symptoms, into internal and external treatments. Accurately classifying a patient’s symptoms and the relation of the symptoms to internal and external hemorrhoids is important.

Treatment guidelines are available from the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Read more...